Author to visit Seaside, Astoria libraries
Gideon For-mukwai to share the art, power of storytelling
SEASIDE AND ASTORIA —
Award-winning speaker and
author Gideon For-Mukwai
will make two appearances
in Clatsop County libraries.
He will speak at the Sea-
side Public Library on Feb.
18, and he will lead a busi-
ness storytelling workshop
at the Astoria Public Library
on Feb. 19. Both events are
free and open to the public.
For-mukwai holds a mas-
ter’s degree in journalism
from the Reynolds School of
Journalism at the University
of Nevada, Reno.
The art of
storytelling
Art for the Heart
Please join us for a Community Celebration of the Heart and
artist reception on Valentine’s Day, Sunday, February 14, 2016,
2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at NCRD in Nehalem.
Enjoy artwork by local artists, live music by Eric Sappington and
delicious, heart healthy refreshments and sweet treats. Art for
the Heart is a community art show in honor of American Heart
Month. The show will hang at NCRD gallery through February.
Please visit nwregionalheart.com to learn more about heart
health.
MORE INFO: 503-815-2402 or email BellM1@ah.org.
Sponsored by Manzanita Primary and Specialty Care Clinic and NW Regional Heart and Vascular
facebook.com/TillamookHospital
TillamookRegionalMC.org
16 | February 11, 2016 | coastweekend.com
The Friends of the Sea-
side Library will For-muk-
wai at 7 p.m. Thrusday, Feb.
18 in the Community Room;
there will be book sales and
signings.
The art and tradition of
storytelling has been a key
element throughout history.
But in our busy, digital age,
the practice often has fallen
by the wayside.
For-mukwai knows that
everyone loves a great sto-
ry and everyone has a great
story. The “Unsung Heroes
Program,” allows folks to
regale and reminisce about
momentous things that have
happened in their lives as
well as the small everyday
occurrences that make our
world such an interesting
place. The author will tell
some of his own stories and
provide the opportunity for
the audience to participate
with accounts of their own.
The Seaside Public Li-
brary is located at 1131
Broadway. For more infor-
mation call 503-738-6742 or
visit seasidelibrary.org
Business storytelling
The days of hard sell-
ing are over; today’s cus-
tomers resent arm-twisting
sales people. As a result,
many successful businesses
are switching to story sell-
ing strategies that focus on
building rapport and trust.
Submitted photo
Gideon For-Mukwai will speak about sto-
rytelling and business storytelling in Sea-
side and Astoria Feb. 18 and 19.
The Astoria Public Li-
brary will host a free Busi-
ness Storytelling workshop
led by For-Mukwai from 2
to 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19.
The goal of the workshop
is to help business owners,
managers, leaders and mar-
keters capture and tell capti-
vating stories that sell.
Registration
for
the
workshop is recommended
but not required.
Small businesses are in-
creasingly embracing sto-
rytelling to engage, educate
and empower customers
with success stories that en-
able them to make informed
buying decisions.
Legendary Hollywood in-
structor Robert McKee says,
“Stories are the currency
of human contact.” By us-
ing this currency, you earn
trust and business from your
prospects by showing them
how you’ve helped other
customers with similar prob-
lems. Neuroscience research
has confirmed that, when
used effectively, storytell-
ing is one of the best ways
to nudge and persuade po-
tential customers to action.
More importantly, stories
enable you to show empathy
toward a prospect, without
sounding pushy or desperate
to make a sale.
In the Feb. 19 workshop,
participants will learn about
four types of business sto-
ries SMEs (small and medi-
um enterprises) must tell to
generate more leads. They
will receive tips on how to
add humor to stories to in-
spire and uplift customers,
and how to increase prod-
uct prices with the science
of storytelling. The work-
shop will include a mini
story coaching clinic, during
which participants will have
the opportunity to craft, tell
and critique stories. Partici-
pants also will receive a 30-
Day Story Sourcing Guide
for identifying captivating
stories.
For-mukwai is author of
the book “The Science of
Story Selling: How to Win
the Hearts & Minds of Your
Prospects for Purpose and
Profit.” With over 12 years
of experience, For-mukwai
enjoys working with profes-
sionals from across all cul-
tures and continents. Since
2004, he has trained over
16,100 executives from or-
ganizations such as Oracle,
Dell, Gillette, US Social Se-
curity Administration, DBS
Bank, People’s Association,
National University of Sin-
gapore, Siemens, Singapore
Armed Forces and Great
Eastern Life.
In 2009, For-Mukwai was
the Speaking Champion at
the Inter-University Speech
Competition at the Universi-
ty of Nevada, Reno. In 2005,
he was Singapore Champion
at District 80 International
Speech Contest in Jakarta,
Indonesia. In both cases, he
credits story telling as the
decisive factor that enabled
him to out speak hundreds of
native English speakers and
contestants.
For more information
about For-Mukwai and his
workshops, visit www.busi-
nessstorytellingacademy.
com
The Astoria Public Li-
brary is located at 450 10th
St. For more information,
call 503-325-7323, or visit
www.astorialibrary.org